ROH Glory by Honor XI - October 13, 2012

Lancelot and Harlem Bravado vs. Cedric Alexander and Caprice Coleman

They spend the early portion trying to put over how much the Bravados have supposedly improved this year. Alexander and Coleman overwhelm Harlem with some quick tags. Lancelot distracts, allowing Harlem to take control with a backbreaker on Alexander. Harlem applies a body scissors. Nigel puts over the Bravados for training in the NOAH dojo as they keep Alexander isolated. Coleman gets a hot tag and nails a double drop-kick. Coleman has to counter Harlem and delivers a pair of suplexes before improvising a double suplex! That was really cool. Alexander wipes out a Bravado with a dive to the floor. Harlem keeps it going with a moonsault off the top. The Bravados eat a dive from Alexander. Sadly, Lancelot plants Coleman with the Unprettier and a TKO for 2 counts. Coleman kicks out of a lariat and nails a springboard cross body. Alexander tags and delivers a K-O kick off the turnbuckles for 2. A combination backstabber isn’t enough to put the Bravados away! The near falls keep coming to the point of ridiculousness. Coleman and Alexander’s Over Time combo finishes it. I had some stopwatch issues, but let’s call it 12:30. This was a surprisingly game opener, but they lost the crowd a bit by going too far with the near falls, **¾.Winners: Caprice Coleman and Cedric Alexander

-Veda Scott interviews Maria Kanellis backstage. Maria calls Mike Mondo a pervert for stalking her. Mondo sneaks up behind her and asks her what it’s like to be kissed by a real man and forces himself on her. Nothing screams BABYFACE like a sexual assault.

Mike Bennett (with Maria Kanellis) vs. Mike Mondo

Bennett slaps before the opening bell, which only earns him a beating. Mondo plays games by hiding under the ring to set up a sneak attack. Bennett counters with a power slam off the apron. Bennett drives Mondo into the guard rail via the freshly injured arm. Bennett knocks Mondo off the ropes, and Mondo begins overselling a leg injury. Mondo charges and gets driven into the apron. Back to the ring, they wipe each other out with cross body attempts. Mondo counters a power bomb on the floor. Mondo prevents the ref from counting Bennett out. Mondo tries to crotch Bennett on the railing but misses and Bennett lands in the crowd. Mondo climbs the metal fixture on the stage! Mondo dives and wipes Bennett out! The fans that were previously chanting “boring” are now shouting “holy shit.” They crawl back to the ring and Maria hops up on the apron to distract Mondo. The set-up doesn’t work but Mondo escapes from an O’Connor roll only to get slapped in the face by Maria. Bennett plants Mondo for the win at 10:57. This could have been a disaster but they pulled out all the stops to get the crowd into it, **½.Winner: Mike Bennett

-Recap of recent TV events. Rhett Titus is on the hunt for revenge against Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team and brings in BJ Whitmer as his surprise partner. They upset Haas and Benjamin on TV, but suffered a vicious post-match beating.

Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team jump Titus and Whitmer during their entrance and the brawl is on. WGTT double team Whitmer in the ring but Titus makes the save. Whitmer dispatches Haas with a dive through the ropes. Titus and Benjamin are finally established as the legal men while Haas drops Whitmer on the barricade. Rhett has to fight Haas on the apron, leaving him vulnerable for a Benjamin super kick. WGTT keep Titus isolated for a beating. Titus counters Benjamin with a flying cross body. They slug it out and they both go down after a double clothesline collision. Whitmer gets a hot tag and cleans house on WGTT. Whitmer and Haas trade kicks and “Fuck you’s.” Rolling Germans by Haas and the Olympic Slam! Titus saves and assists in dishing out some double team moves. Benjamin saves Haas from getting pinned by a Fisherman suplex. Whitmer blocks the Exploder and Titus saves with a drop-kick. The match has broken down with all four men in the ring. WGTT plant Whitmer for the win at 11:22. Great brawl and an intense match, I thoroughly enjoyed this one, ***¼.Winners: Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team

-Kelly and McGuinness are buzzing about an incident at a recent live event where Jay Lethal had a royal meltdown due to Kevin Steen spitting on his mother at ringside. They replay highlights from the match and Lethal’s freak-out. Jim Cornette tried to talk Lethal down to no avail. Later backstage, Lethal tossed Cornette over a table, effectively writing the former booker off television.

-Jay Lethal comes to the ring for his match but grabs a mic first. Lethal says that Joe Koff had ordered him not to talk about the incident with his mother again but this is live so he can do what he wants. Lethal tells Steen to kiss his ass. Lethal addresses putting Cornette in the hospital, which earns a “Thank you, Lethal” chant. Lethal tells Ring of Honor to kiss his ass as well. Lethal has a lot of respect for his opponent, Davey Richards, but he’s got the unfortunate role of being the wrong person in the wrong place.

Jay Lethal vs. Davey Richards

They share a tense handshake as the bell rings. They lock up and exchange shoves. Richards keeps Lethal on the defensive with a series of submission attempts. Lethal slaps, which only serves to totally piss Richards off. Cartwheel drop-kick by Lethal reverses the momentum. Davey pays homage to Nigel McGuinness as he goes after the legs. Lethal rebounds with some chops and a head scissors. Davey counters with a modified Indian death lock. Davey scores with a running boot to the chest on the apron. Richards connects with a running boot to the face! Missile drop-kick by Davey gets 2. Richards applies a head scissors and drives Lethal’s head into the mat. Cue the chinlock! Lethal rebounds and sets up a suicide dive! They battle on the apron and Lethal nails the Lethal Injection! Back to the ring, a slug-fest erupts! Lethal Combination and the Koji Clutch! Lethal rolls though a German suplex and dishes out one of his own! They battle on the top rope and Richards nails the superplex! Davey hangs on but Lethal counters with a pinning predicament! K-O kick and Brainbuster by Richards only gets 2! Flying double stomp by Davey! Lethal escapes an ankle lock and refuses to stay down. Super kick by Lethal gets 2. Back to the top, Lethal attempts a sunset flip power bomb onto the announce table, gets counted, but kicks him through the table anyway! Richards barely avoids a count-out. The flying elbow drop by Lethal isn’t enough! The Dragon Suplex isn’t enough either! The Lethal Injection is blocked! Lethal reverses the ankle lock! Davey counters but gets tossed into the turnbuckles. The Lethal Injection hits but only gets 2! Davey passes out in the Koji Clutch at 23:27. HELL of a match here. They actually showed some restraint for the bulk of the match and the crazy near falls worked because Lethal’s elevation was at stake, ****½.Winner: Jay Lethal

-Eddie Edwards comes to the ring to survey the damage. Richards holds Lethal’s arm up because he’s a good sport.

-Tadarius Thomas is ready for his match but his opponent, Roderick Strong, isn’t dressed to wrestle. Strong tells Truth Martini that it’s bullshit that he’s on the post-intermission match on one of the biggest shows of the year against someone who hasn’t beaten anyone. Strong quits the House of Truth and storms out. The bell rings and Strong has to the count of 10 to answer. Truth Martini comes back out with Rhino! Martini claims that all is well with Strong and he introduces Rhino as Strong’s replacement against Thomas!

Tadarius Thomas vs. Rhino (with Truth Martini)

Rhino swats at Thomas, who is just out of arm’s reach. Thomas flips around to avoid getting hit. Thomas delivers some jabs and nails a nice leg sweep. Rhino has had enough of this nonsense and nails a hard neck breaker. Truth throws Rhino some tape and he uses it to choke. Rhino tosses Thomas to ringside and Martini is brazen enough to blatantly throw some kicks. Cue the bear hug! Thomas dips his head to block some punches, which is a tad unusual. Belly to belly suplex by Rhino but Martini inexplicably trips Thomas, inadvertently preventing a gore. Thomas scores a surprise roll-up for the pin at 5:54! What the hell? This match died a slow death before that surprise finish. This isn’t a very good use of Rhino either, ½*.Winner: Tadarius Thomas

-Truth Martini tries to buy himself some safety, but Rhino press slams him over the ropes onto the guard rail! Martini ripped his pants open in the process and has a nasty welt on his leg. What a trooper.

Both men agreed on a special 30 minute time limit in place of the normal 15 minute limit for TV title matches. These guys are pals and they wrestle a sportsmanlike match in the early going. They sprint through about a dozen pinning predicaments in short order. We come to a stalemate after they both miss stiff shots and dropkicks. Hard shots replace the technical wrestling. Cole blocks a suicide dive with an enziguri! That move cost Cole and Edwards succeeds with the suicide dive! Cue the chinlock, they’ve earned a breather. They both start targeting one other’s knee to set up their submission holds. They fight over a suplex and Cole ends up DDTing Edwards on the apron in NASTY fashion. That could be a concussion. Frog splash by Cole gets a 2 count. Eddie is selling a neck injury, so Cole delivers a disgusting neck breaker onto his knee. Edwards retaliates with a backpack chin breaker. Eddie nails a flying double stomp and goes right into the Achilles Lock! They’re past the 15 minute mark where the match would normally have ended. Cole comes back with a Figure Four. They battle on the top rope and they both tumble to ringside. They trade super kicks and Cole delivers some hard attacks to the head. The Florida Key finishes it at 19:05! Talk about an upset! I really dug the story of the match, with Cole’s attacks on Edwards’ head allowing him to beat a proven main eventer, ***¾.Winner and still Television Champion: Adam Cole

-We take a look back at Boiling Point, where the Briscoes picked up a win over Steve Corino and Jimmy Jacobs.

The Briscoes are in a fighting mood and they attack S.C.U.M before the bell can ring. Cue top rope dives and ringside brawl. Corino looks 10 years younger than the last time I saw him (at Border Wars). Mark and Corino settle in as the legal participants. The Briscoes make quick tags and dish out a beating on Corino. Colby Shock by Corino allows a needed tag to Jacobs. Mark blocks a double team and tags in a fired up Jay. Corino sneaks in a bag of coins for a closed fist shot to Mark. S.C.U.M. isolate Jay for an extended beat down. Jay plants Corino on the turnbuckles but can’t make the tag. Jay counters an attempted finisher and Mark gets the hot tag. Iconoclast on Jacobs, but Corino breaks the cover. The match breaks down and the Briscoes don’t quite hit a leg drop/side slam combo. Corino saves Jacobs again and winds up brawling with Jay. Spear by Jacobs but he walks into a springboard kick from Mark. The brawl continues and Mark suffers a combination of attacks but kicks out. Jay delivers a DVD to Corino onto the barricade at ringside! The Briscoes try to finish Jacobs with a flying elbow drop. Corino saves Jacobs from the Doomsday Device, delivers a low blow, and Jacobs pins Mark at 13:56. Hard hitting contest here, just a bit too sloppy and rushed to become anything special. I am amazed at the resurgence of Steve Corino though, **¾.Winners and still ROH Tag Team Champions: S.C.U.M.

-Kevin Steen wants to talk before his title defense. Steen is happy to see a sign in the crowd that shows him choking out Jim Cornette. Steen is happy to tell us that several of his recent demands have been met. 8-% of his merchandise sales are going straight to his pocket, he never has to wrestle Jay Lethal ever again, ROH is making him a new ROH title belt, and the package piledriver is once again legal! It’s time for unbreakable to get broken!

Roderick Strong is in the front row, enjoying a beer. That can’t be good. Steen and Elgin trade shoves and start brawling right off the bat. Big side slam by Elgin sends Steen retreating to ringside. Elgin pursues and the brawl continues. Both men use the Canadian flag as a weapon. Back to the ring, Elgin nails a power slam for 2. Delayed vertical suplex by Elgin! Flying shoulder block by Elgin gets another 2 count. Steen comes back with a DDT off the second rope. Power bomb onto the apron by Steen! Frog splash off the apron by Steen, who I’m convinced is clinically insane. Back to the ring, Steen continues to roll with a belly to back suplex. Elgin takes more abuse but delivers a desperate enziguri. Elgin is on the defensive and counters a sharpshooter. Elgin nails a chin breaker out of the corner for a 2 count. Elgin blocks the package piledriver and plants Steen for yet another near fall. Steen comes back with a cannonball senton! Elgin escapes getting crotched on the ropes but Steen blocks a corkscrew senton! Elgin rebounds, wiping Steen out at ringside. Elgin drags Roderick Strong over the barricade and thrashes him to the stage. Elgin finds time to power bomb Steen into the ring post! The corkscrew senton gets a painfully close near fall. Steen counters with the sharpshooter! Elgin counters with the crossface! They battle on the apron and Elgin counters a sleeper by leaping through a table! Both men are nearly counted out. They struggle to their feet and resume brawling. Steen plants Elgin for a scary near fall. Elgin counters back into the crossface. O’Connor Roll by Elgin gets 2. Dead lift German suplex by Elgin! Codebreaker by Steen, but Elgin absorbed the move! Buckle Bomb by Elgin but Steen explodes back with a spear! F-5 by Steen, but Elgin kicks out! Another crossface by Elgin, another escape by Steen. Overhead suplex by Steen and the F-5 but Elgin kicks out yet again! Really, guys? The crowd is more impressed by that ridiculous kick-out than I am. Steen goes for another Cannonball Senton but Elgin counters with a power bomb! Second buckle bomb by Elgin and a sit-out power bomb still isn’t enough for the win! They head to the top rope and Steen counters with a package piledriver! That’s (finally) enough for the Steen pinfall at 31:23. Extraordinary effort from Steen and Elgin yet again, thought at certain points I’d felt like the match overstayed it’s welcome, it ended on a hot note, ****¼.Winner and still ROH World Champion: Kevin Steen

-Officials are helping Elgin to his feet when Roderick Strong runs in and lays him out with a Sick Kick. Paul Turner hands a package to Nigel McGuinness. Steen is basking in his victory and wants his music, but Nigel has an announcement. In the event that Steen retained the title, Nigel was to deliver the package. Steen opens the box and finds none other than El Generico’s mask! Steen has a temper tantrum as the crowd pops.

Final Thoughts: This was a hell of a show. Great effort from the roster and lots of memorable moments throughout. I’m interested to see where things are going with Jay Lethal and the pending return of El Generico. It looks like ROH finally succeeded in creating a new star with Michael Elgin, I just hope they’re careful about how many unsuccessful title shots he gets. Big thumbs up for Glory by Honor XI, you can order the VOD replay at ROHWrestling.com.